re: How Should We Handle Hamas

Israel bombs the shite out of people all the time and the media never reports it.


That's the elephant in the room you didn't know about.

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I'm trying to figure out Hamas's overall goal here

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Since it's inception, Hamas' long-term goal is to end the Jewish state and replace it with an Islamic one — i.e., the liberation (or return) of Palestine.

As for "why" in this instance, there is a seven-day Jewish pilgrimage holiday called Sukkot, which just ended on October 6/7. Festivities involved large-scale events on the compound of the Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, which is also the third holiest site for Muslims.

During this most recent holiday the Jews were praying in this mosque, which is typically not permitted and is considered to be a highly, highly provocative act.

Although the incursion as a whole has obviously been planned for some time (it coincides with the 50th anniversary of the Yom Kippur war), the timing appears in part to be retaliation for that provocation, with Hamas saying that they're acting to "protect" Jerusalem.